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The Asylum

I’m not generally an angry person. I tend to like to talk about problems or situations, and if worst were to come to worst, I’m the type to just shrug it off. [I’m passive like that] However, like most people: I can only carry so much on my shoulders – and if something were to bother me enough [*cough* remakes] I’m bound to get a little antsy, therefore wanting to rant about said issue.

That’s where this NEW segment comes in: rants. The idea behind this new segment is that if something were to come up in the horror-world [is that even a term?] that bothers me enough to complain a bunch about it, it’ll fall into this segment. As I said above, I’m not an overly angry person so this won’t become a weekly thing [unless it’s a really bad week on my part] but it will happen on the occasion. Because this is the first rant, I’ve already got my first topic chosen, and those that know me in real life, probably saw this one coming: The Asylum.[the film studio]

The Asylum is a company that you either do or don’t know by name, but if you’re a horror fan, you know them all too well. For those that don’t know our friends over at Asylum, just know that they are an American film studio [and distributor] who focus on making terrible low-budgeted direct-to-video films. The way that the studio works is by producing movies with film titles and even scripts extremely similar to those of current blockbuster films; in order to lure their customers in! Essentially, these guys are the devil. The fans/angry viewers have called these films “mockbusters”, for obvious reasons. Their “hard work” didn’t do them too much justice though, considering that in 2007, similarities between Asylum‘s titles and the titles of major studios were reported. An example is the Asylum film Transmorphers seems to be much too similar to the blockbuster film Transformers, [and not just because of the giant robots or the title] which was released in theaters only two days after the release of Transmorphers.. this wasn’t the only time this had happened because in November 2012, Warner Bros, New Line Cinema and MGM all ordered legal action againstThe Asylum for their newest film titled: Age Of The Hobbits, [which later was re-titled to “Lord Of The Elves“] claiming that they were [as they put it] “free-riding” on the worldwide promotional campaign for Peter Jackson‘s upcoming films. BUT, The Asylum claimed its movie is technically “sound” because their Hobbits are not based on the J. R. R. Tolkien creations. The lawsuit ended in a temporary “restraining order”, which had prevented The Asylum from releasing the film on its original release dateStill not convinced these guys are evil? Check out some of “their” other movie posters below – even if they are easy enough to guess, click the link below the poster to see what movie they capitalized it on! Remember, the movies below are basic “rip off” of Hollywood blockbusters in the sense of storytelling, characters and even the plot being more or less the exact same. Movie fans, prepare to get fucking agitated! Ready? LET’SGO.

Obviously, The Asylum has released more than just these films above. But, to capitalize on other film’s hard work and “try” and pass it off as something new is just plain ridiculous.. If that isn’t enough, the films above [along with their other “films”] were typically released around the same time as their blockbuster doppelganger. These “mockbusters” just tend to irritate me to no end – and no, they’re not the “so bad, it’s good” type of movies – they just fucking hurt to watch.. [Sharknado is fun though, I’ll give them that one!]

And that’s the first of hopefully more rants. I mentioned it above, and I’ll say it again, I don’t get upset that easily; but if something were to bother me enough in the movie world, you can expect me to talk about it here! What do you make of these “rip-offs”? Interesting enough, or bothersome? Let me know in a comment or two below, or over on Facebook. While you’re over on the Facebook page, why not hit that ‘like’ button? We’re getting closer to 100 likes, and I’d love to reach that goal!